Systems and methods for modifying commercials

ABSTRACT

Methods and products to deliver at least a portion of an advertisement to a viewer at normal playback speeds after receiving a command from the viewer to fast-forward through an advertisement faster than normal playback speeds is described. In certain embodiments, the invention delivers a portion of the advertisement to be played at normal playback speeds to the viewer; and delivers the remaining portion of the advertisement to be played at a playback speed that is faster than the specified playback speed so that the combination of the portions delivered at normal and faster playback speeds is delivered to the user at the specified playback speed. In some other embodiments, the invention delivers at least a portion of the first advertisement to the viewer at normal playback speeds; and delivers one or more other advertisements to the viewer simultaneously with the first advertisement with the audio information muted based on the specified playback speed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser.No. 12/062,498, filed Apr. 3, 2008, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Appln. No. 60/921,813, filed Apr. 4, 2007, each of which isincorporated herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of personal video recordingsystems. More particularly, the present invention relates to modifyingcommercials during fast-forward playback.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In recent years, personal video recorders (PVRs), such as thosemanufactured by TiVo, Inc. and those built-in to set-top boxes providedby local cable companies, have become readily available to consumers.Using a hard drive or storage device and software, a PVR allows atelevision viewer to pause, rewind, fast forward, or playback a livetelevision program that the viewer is watching. The PVR also allows thetelevision viewer to record a program, where the recorded program willbe stored on the PVR for future playback.

In addition to recording television programs, the PVR also records theadvertisements or commercials that are placed at given intervals duringthe broadcasted television programs. For example, as shown in FIG. 1A, athirty-minute television program 100 may be divided into threeeight-minute segments with three two-minute advertisement or commercialgroups 110, 120, and 130. FIG. 1B shows that each two-minuteadvertisement or commercial group may include four thirty-secondcommercial spots 140, 150, 160, and 170 in succession.

However, the viewer that wishes to watch a program without interruptionoften considers these commercials a nuisance. Consequently, when theviewer plays back a recorded television program using the PVR, theviewer generally tends to fast forward through many or all of thecommercials that were also recorded. Using the PVR, the viewer has theoption of fast forwarding through these commercials at differentrates—e.g., 2× speed in response to pressing the fast forward buttononce, 3× speed in response to pressing the last forward button twice,and 4× speed in response to pressing the fast forward button threetimes. Generally, there is no audio playback when a viewer performs afast forward operation. Thus, when fast forwarding through commercials,the commercials are muted, the video images are accelerated at the rateselected by the viewer, and the interruption to viewing the recordedprogram is minimized.

Accordingly, there exists a need for systems and methods that overcomethese and other deficiencies in prior art systems.

For example, it would be desirable to allow viewers to fast forwardthrough recorded video, such as a commercial while still providingadvertisers with an opportunity to present an advertising message.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various objects, features, and advantages of the present invention canbe more fully appreciated with reference to the following detaileddescription of the invention when considered in connection with thefollowing drawing, in which like reference numerals identify likeelements.

FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram showing a thirty-minute televisionprogram with commercial breaks.

FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram showing a two-minute advertisement orcommercial sequence that is provided during on of the commercial breaks.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are illustrative schematic diagrams showing a modifiedcommercial in response to a viewer action in accordance with someembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an illustrative schematic diagram showing multiple commercialsthat are simultaneously displayed in response to a viewer action inaccordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an illustrative schematic diagram showing multiple versions ofa commercial that are simultaneously displayed in response to a vieweraction in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an illustrative schematic diagram showing a commercial that isbeing displayed in response to a viewer selection from multiple,simultaneously displayed commercials in accordance with some embodimentsof the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, a commercial modificationapplication (sometimes referred to herein as “the application”) isprovided. The application provides enhanced features for fast-forwardplayback through commercials while providing advertisers with anopportunity to present an advertising message in a space that wouldotherwise be skipped by viewers.

It should be noted that the application may be integrated with aninteractive television application that provides interactive services toa viewer. Interactive services may allow a viewer to change channels,record one or more television programs, playback recorded programs, etc.

It should also be noted that although the following embodiments of theinvention are described as relating to the playback of televisionprogram and media content from a personal video recorder, theseembodiments are not limited only to playback of content on a personalvideo recorder. The application may be implemented on any suitableequipment, such as, for example, a set-top box, a digital video recorder(DVR), a computer, a configuration in which a DVR or PVR is integratedwith a set-top box, etc. For example, the application may be implementedon a computer that is receiving streamed content. More specifically, theapplication may be embodied as a computer program product residing onone or more computer readable media, such a CD, DVD, hard drive, memorydevice, and the like, and instruct the related computer hardware (e.g.,PVR, set-top box, TV, personal computer, etc.) to carry out thefunctions described herein. As illustrated above, the term “computer”will generally refer to devices/equipments/hardware having at least amicroprocessor and a computer readable media that is capable ofdelivering one or more advertisements to a viewer.

The equipment may receive instructions from the viewer by any suitableinput device (e.g., a remote control, a keyboard, an on-screen approach,etc.). For example, instructions from a viewer may be received using aremote control that has multiple buttons, such as a fast-forward button,a rewind button, a play button, a record button, a pause button, a stopbutton, a skip commercial button, etc. The remote control allows theviewer to fast-forward and rewind at multiple speeds though televisioncontent.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the viewer is watching a television program. Thetelevision program may be a recorded program that is stored on the PVR.The television program may also be a live or broadcasted program thatthe viewer is currently tuned to and the PVR is concurrently storing theprogram as it is being broadcast in a local cache or other storagedevice.

The application is invoked in response to the viewer, for example,pressing the “fast-forward” button on the remote control once thetelevision program is at the first commercial break or upon displayingthe first commercial. Typically, such, a viewer action causes the PVR tofast-forward through content (e.g., a television program, a commercial,etc.) at twice the playback. Instead, the application providesadvertisers with an alternate approach for providing an advertisingmessage.

In some embodiments, the application may detect when a commercial breakoccurs in the program sequence. In response to the viewer pressing the“fast-forward” button on the remote control during a commercial break,the application determines the length of the commercial, plays back aportion of the commercial in the initial playback speed (1×), andfast-forwards or increases the playback speed of the remainder of thecommercial. It should be noted that the application determines theplayback speed of the remainder of the commercial and compensates forthe initial playback such that the commercial ends at the same time asif the viewer had pressed the fast-forward button on the remote controland fast-forwarded through the entire commercial (e.g., at 2× speed).

For example, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, in response to pressing thefast-forward button once at the 8:00 minute mark of the televisionprogram, the application determines the length of the first commercial.Based on this determination, the application instructs the PVR toplayback a portion of the first commercial. As shown in FIG. 2B, theapplication has determined that the first ten seconds of a thirty-secondfirst commercial are to be shown (portion 250 of the first commercial).Upon providing the first ten seconds of the first commercial, theapplication may increase the playback speed of the remainder of thefirst commercial. As the viewer has pressed the fast-forward button onceto instruct the PVR to fast-forward through the commercial at 2× speed,the application determines that a fast-forwarded thirty-secondcommercial is to be shown in fifteen seconds. Accordingly, theapplication increases the playback rate of the remaining twenty secondsof the first commercial so that it is shown in the remaining fiveseconds.

In another suitable embodiment, the application may divide up thecommercial into different portions and playback each portion of thecommercial at different rates. For example, a thirty-second commercialmay be divided up into a five-second portion (the first portion), atwenty-second portion (the second portion), and five-second portion (thethird portion). The first portion and the third portion are played backin the initial 1× speed and the playback rate of the second portion isincreased such that the twenty-second portion is played back in fiveseconds (i.e., 4× speed). It should be noted that even though the firstand third portions are played back at 1× speed, the playback of theentire commercial has not taken a longer time period than if the viewerfast-forwarded through the entire commercial at 2× speed.

In some embodiments, the application may divide up the commercial intodifferent portions based on the playback speed the viewer has selected(e.g., 2× fast-forward, 3× fast-forward, 4× fast-forward). For example,if the viewer selects to fast-forward through a thirty-second commercialat a rate of 3× fast-forward, the application may playback the first tenseconds of the commercial in 1× speed and not playback the remainder ofthe commercial. Note that the first ten second portion of the commercialthat is provided to the viewer has not taken a longer time period thanif the viewer fast-forwarded through the entire commercial at 3× speed.In another example, the application may playback the first five secondsand increase the playback rate of the remaining twenty-five seconds ofthe commercial such that it is played back in five seconds (i.e., 5×speed).

It should also be noted that the invention is not limited to changingthe rate of the playback of a commercial in response to a viewer action(e.g., pressing the fast-forward button on the remote control) at thestart of a commercial break. The application may determine the playbackrate of the commercial at any point that a viewer action is received.For example, if the viewer has watched three seconds of a thirty-secondcommercial and then presses the fast-forward button on the remotecontrol, the application may determine a portion of the remainder of thecommercial to playback at one rate (e.g., 1× speed) and another portionof the remainder of the commercial to playback at another rate (e.g., 5×speed, 10× speed, etc.).

It should also be noted that the application may then slow down, fadein, fade out or any other suitable approach for transitioning to thestart of the next commercial. The application may similarly playback aportion of the next commercial and then increase the playback rate ofthe remainder of the next commercial.

Using the application, the result will be a commercial that plays in agiven time (e.g., five seconds, fifteen seconds, etc.) that satisfiesthe viewers' expectation but allows an initial period of time for aviewer to see if the viewer is interested.

In some embodiments, the application may provide multiple commercialsconcurrently in response to the viewer pressing a fast-forward button onthe remote control or other suitable input device during a commercialbreak. In response, the application may determine the number ofcommercials that are to be provided in a given commercial break. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 3, the application has determined that fourcommercials—i.e., a first commercial 310, a second commercial 320, athird commercial 330, and a fourth commercial 340—are to be played backduring a given commercial break. The application may combine the contentfrom the four commercials such that the four commercials are played backsimultaneously (display 350).

In another suitable embodiment, the application may simultaneouslydisplay the first commercial and the second commercial and thensimultaneously display the third commercial and the fourth commercial.In some embodiments, the application may determine the number ofcommercials to simultaneously display based on the playback rateselected by the viewer. For example, in response to the viewer selectinga playback rate of 2×, the application may simultaneously display twocommercials (two thirty-second commercials displayed simultaneously inthirty seconds).

In some embodiments, the application may simultaneously display multipleversions of a commercial. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, in responseto the receiving a viewer action (e.g., the viewer pressing thefast-forward or rewind button on a remote control), the application mayprovide multiple versions of the commercial to the viewersimultaneously. Each commercial, may have a different media segments(e.g., portions of audio, portions of video, background audio,voiceovers, images, animations, graphics, ending, etc.).

In another example, the application may provide the viewer with multiplecommercials from the same advertiser (e.g., each commercial is generatedby Comcast). In yet another example, the application may provide theviewer with multiple commercials for the same product or service (e.g.,each commercial relates to a particular Comcast service).

In response to providing the viewer with multiple commercialssimultaneously, the application may provide the audio track for one ofthe commercials. For example, the application may allow the viewer toplace a highlight region 510 over one of the displayed commercials. Asshown in FIG. 5, the highlight region 510 has been placed over firstcommercial 310. In response to the viewer selecting first commercial 310by, for example, pressing a select button or other suitable interface,the application displays the first commercial to the viewer in display520. The application may display the remainder of the first commercial,the entire first commercial (e.g., the thirty-second spot), the firstcommercial with additional content (e.g., coupon codes, personalizedcontent, additional information associated with the selected commercial,etc.), etc.

In some embodiments, the application may provide the viewer with audioduring the portions that are played back at a different rate (e.g.,fast-forwarded or rewinded at 2×, 3×, 4×, 5×, 10×, etc.). With theadvent of digital audio, it may be computationally expensive to recreateanalog audio effects. In response to the application changing theplayback rate for a portion of the commercial as described above, theapplication may retrieve the audio for that portion of the commercialand adjust the pitch of the audio. The application can play most of thewords from the audio track, thereby removing a great deal of silencethat normally occurs during fast-forward or rewind playback.Accordingly, the application can provide viewers with a significantportion of the audio track without having to prepare the audio trackprior to playback.

In some embodiments, the application may provide the viewer with acomplementary audio track that is particularly designated to be utilizedfor certain playback speeds. The complementary audio track may be theoriginal audio track associated with the video (as described above) orcan be a specialized audio track to be utilized tor certain playbackrates. For example, when a viewer fast forwards or rewinds a commercial(e.g., fast-forwarded or rewinded at 2×, 3×, 4×, 5×, 10×, etc.), theapplication may retrieve the complementary audio track for that portionof the commercial and playback the audio track, either in real-time orwith the pitch of the audio adjusted. Different complementary audiotracks may be designated for different fast-forward and/or rewind rates.The application can play the complementary audio track, thereby removinga great deal of silence that normally occurs during fast-forward orrewind playback.

In some embodiments, the application may provide the viewer with acommercial viewing option. In response to the receiving a viewer action(e.g., the viewer pressing the fast-forward or rewind button on a remotecontrol), the application may provide the viewer with a selection ofcommercials. For example, in response to the viewer pressing thefast-forward button, the application may provide the user with a listingof commercials, a listing of brands, a listing of products and services,a listing of series of commercials, and/or any other suitable listing.The application may request that the viewer select and view onecommercial or any other predetermined number of commercials prior toreturning to the recorded content. For example, the application mayprevent the viewer from fast-forwarding through the commercials andcontinuing to playback the program content until the viewer has selectedone commercial to watch. In another example, the application, in avideo-on-demand environment, may prompt the viewer to select from a listof commercials to view prior to downloading or viewing a selectedvideo-on-demand program. In yet another example, the application, in avideo-on-demand environment, may prompt the viewer to select from a listof commercials to download to the viewer's equipment (e.g., a set-topbox) prior to downloading a selected video-on-demand program or prior toproviding the viewer with a list of available video-on-demand programs.

In some embodiments, the application may provide the viewer with acommercial viewing option in response to the viewer hitting a rewindbutton on the remote control. In response to the viewer pressing therewind button, the application may provide the user with a listing ofcommercials related to the commercial that the viewer watched. Forexample, when the viewer presses the rewind button after watching aTravel Channel commercial, the application may provide the viewer with aselectable list of Travel Channel commercials, where the list mayinclude the commercial that the viewer viewed or a series of commercialsrelating to the recently viewed commercial. In another example, inresponse to pressing the rewind button after watching a Travel Channelcommercial, the application may present the viewer with coupon codesrelating to travel, the Travel Channel, sponsors of the Travel Channel,and/or advertisers on the Travel Channel. Alternatively, the applicationmay provide the viewer with an option to view a different version of thecommercial or a subsequent commercial in a series of commercials.

It should be noted that the application may include digital rightsmanagement features. For example, the advertiser may require that apredetermined amount of their advertisements be viewed at given speeds(e.g., 20% of their commercials must be viewed by at least 1× and 30% oftheir commercials must be viewed by at least 2×), given portions of thescreen (e.g., 10% of their commercials must be viewed in full size, 20%of their commercials must be viewed in at least split screen, etc., etc.

In some embodiments, advertisers may set restrictions or parameters oneach of their commercials. These parameters may be embedded within thecommercial. For example, an advertiser may generate a commercial withthe parameters that at least the first ten seconds must be viewed andthat the commercial must be viewed in full screen. Theseparameter-embedded commercials may be transmitted to PVRs, where theprocessor of each PVR determines when a commercial is played back basedon when the embedded parameters are met.

In some embodiments, the application may track and monitor thepresentation of commercials to each PVR. For example, the applicationmay monitor that the entire series of Travel Channel commercials wereviewed in their entirety, ten seconds of a Verizon commercials wasviewed, and one Comcast commercial was viewed in split screen with aBurger King commercial. The application may monitor each commercial inits varying speeds and presentations from each PVR and transmit thisinformation to the operator of a database, where the database accountsfor payments to and from advertisers.

As described hereinabove, the application provides enhanced features formodifying commercials while providing advertisers with an opportunity topresent an advertising message in a space that would otherwise beskipped by viewers. One of ordinary skill would know how to utilizestandard algorithms to implement the processes of the present inventionbased on the information provided in this application.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited in itsapplication to the details of construction and to the arrangements ofthe components set forth in the following description or illustrated inthe drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of beingpracticed and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understoodthat the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purposeof description and should not be regarded as limiting.

Although the present invention has been described and illustrated in theforegoing exemplary embodiments, it is understood that the presentdisclosure has been made only by way of example, and that numerouschanges in the details of implementation of the invention may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer program product residing on anon-transitory computer readable medium to deliver at least a portion ofan advertisement to a viewer at normal playback speeds, the computerprogram product comprising instructions for causing a computer to:receive a command to a receiver device to fast-forward or rewind throughan advertisement at a specified playback speed that is faster than thenormal playback speed; deliver at least a portion of the advertisementfrom the receiver device to be played at normal playback speeds; anddeliver from the receiver device the remaining portion of theadvertisement to be played at a playback speed that is faster than thespecified playback speed so that the combination of the portion ofadvertisement delivered at normal play back speeds and the portion ofadvertisement delivered at a playback speed that is faster than thespecified playback speed is delivered from the receiver device at thespecified playback speed.
 2. The computer program product of claim 1,wherein the advertisement comprises information specifying the minimumportion of the advertisement to be played at normal playback speeds. 3.The computer program product of claim 1, wherein a first portion of theadvertisement to be played at normal playback speeds is delivered to theviewer, then a second portion of the advertisement to be played at arate that is faster than the specified playback speed is delivered tothe viewer, and then a third portion of the advertisement to be playedat normal playback speeds is delivered to the viewer.
 4. The computerprogram product of claim 1, wherein, the advertisement comprises audioinformation and video information.
 5. The computer program product ofclaim 4, wherein at least a portion of the audio information in theremaining portion of the advertisement is delivered to the viewer andplayed at normal playback speeds while the video information in theremaining portion of the advertisement that is played at a rate that isfaster than the specified playback speed is delivered to the viewer. 6.The computer program product of claim 1, further comprising instructionsfor causing a computer to: present the viewer with a selection of othercommercials to be viewed at normal playback speeds while delivering theremaining portion of the advertisement at a rate that is faster than thespecified playback speed.
 7. The computer program product of claim 1,wherein the command is received alter the start of the advertisement. 8.The computer program product of claim 1, further comprising instructionsto: send at least one information regarding the viewing history of theadvertisement to a database.
 9. A computer program product residing on anon-transitory computer readable medium to deliver at least a portion ofan advertisement to a viewer in at normal playback speeds, the computerprogram product comprising instructions for causing a computer to:receive a command to a receiver device to fast-forward through a firstadvertisement at a specified playback speed; deliver at least a portionof the first advertisement from the receiver device at normal playbackspeeds, the first advertisement comprising audio information and videoinformation; and deliver from the receiver device one or more otheradvertisements to the viewer simultaneously with the firstadvertisement; wherein each of the one or more other advertisements isdelivered without the audio information or with the audio informationmuted; and the number of one or more other advertisements delivered tothe viewer is determined based on the specified playback speed.
 10. Thecomputer program product of claim 9, further comprising instructions forcausing the computer to: present the viewer with an option to select oneof the other advertisement with the audio information and the videoinformation while the audio information in the first advertisement ismuted.
 11. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the firstadvertisement comprises information specifying the minimum portion ofthe first advertisement to be played with the audio information beforeone of the other advertisement selected by the viewer can be played withthe audio information.
 12. The computer program product of claim 9,further comprising instructions for causing the computer to: deliver atleast a portion of the first advertisement to the viewer to be played atnormal playback speeds; deliver the remaining portion of the firstadvertisement to be played at a rate that is faster than the specifiedplayback speed so that the entire first advertisement is delivered fromthe receiver at the specified playback speed; and the number of one ormore other advertisements delivered to the viewer is determined based on(1) the specified rate, (2) the portion of the first advertisement to beplayed at normal playback speeds, and (3) the portion of the firstadvertisement to be played at a rate that is faster than the specifiedplayback speed.
 13. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein theone or more other advertisements comprise different versions of thefirst advertisement.
 14. The computer program product of claim 9,wherein the one or more other advertisements comprise differentadvertisements from the advertiser of the first advertisement.
 15. Thecomputer program product of claim 9, wherein the one or more otheradvertisements comprise different advertisements having similarclassification of product or service being advertised as the firstadvertisement.
 16. The computer program product of claim 9, furthercomprising instructions to: send at least one information regarding theviewing history of the first advertisement to a database.
 17. A computerprogram product residing on a non-transitory computer readable medium todeliver at least a portion of an advertisement to a viewer at normalplayback speeds, the computer program product comprising instructionsfor causing a computer to: receive a command to a receiver device tofast-forward or rewind through an advertisement at a playback speed thatis faster than the normal playback speed, wherein the advertisementcomprises video information and audio information; deliver the videoinformation from the receiver device at the playback speed that isfaster than the normal playback speed; and deliver from the receiverdevice at least a portion of the audio information to the viewer atnormal playback speeds; wherein the combination of the portion ofadvertisement delivered at normal play back speeds and the portion ofadvertisement delivered at the playback speed that is faster than thenormal playback speed is delivered from the receiver device at thespecified playback speed.
 18. The computer program product of claim 17,wherein the audio information comprises a default audio track and one ormore complementary audio tracks that are to be played when theadvertisement is played at the playback speed that is faster than thenormal playback speed.
 19. The computer program product of claim 18,wherein at least a portion of one of the complementary audio track isdelivered to the viewer after receiving the command from the viewer tofast-forward or rewind through an advertisement.
 20. The computerprogram product of claim 18, wherein at least a portion of the defaultaudio track is delivered to the viewer played at a normal playbackspeed.
 21. A method to deliver at least a portion of an advertisement toa viewer at normal playback speeds, the method comprising: receiving acommand to a receiver device to fast-forward through an advertisement ata specified playback speed that is faster than the normal playbackspeed; delivering at least a portion of the advertisement from thereceiver device to be played at normal playback speeds; delivering fromthe receiver device the remaining portion of the advertisement to beplayed at a playback speed that is faster than the specified playbackspeed so that the combination of the portion of advertisement deliveredat normal playback speeds and the portion of advertisement delivered ata playback speed that is faster than the specified playback speed isdelivered from the receiver device at the specified playback speed. 22.A method to deliver at least a portion of an advertisement to a viewerin at normal playback speeds, the method comprising: receiving a commandto a receiver device to fast-forward through a first advertisement at aspecified playback speed; delivering at least a portion of the firstadvertisement from a receiver device at normal playback speeds, thefirst advertisement comprising audio information and video information;delivering from the receiver device one or more other advertisements tothe viewer simultaneously with the first advertisement; wherein each ofthe one or more other advertisements is delivered without the audioinformation or with the audio information muted; and the number of oneor more other advertisements delivered to the viewer is determined basedon the specified playback speed such that the combination of the portionof advertisement delivered at normal play back speeds and one or moreother advertisements is delivered from the receiver device at thespecified playback speed.
 23. A method to deliver at least a portion ofan advertisement to a viewer at normal playback speeds, the methodcomprising: receiving a command to a receiver device to fast-forward orrewind through an advertisement at a specified playback speed that isfaster than the normal playback speed, wherein the advertisementcomprises video information and audio information; delivering the videoinformation from the receiver device at the playback speed that isfaster than the normal playback speed; and delivering from the receiverdevice at least a portion of the audio information to the viewer atnormal playback speeds.